Inter Milan Youngster Looks Back On Nerazzurri Debut, Addresses Future | OneFootball

Wingback Mattia Zanotti can still remember the feeling of making his debut for Inter Milan.

Speaking to Gianlucadimarzio.com, the 21-year-old also named Javier Zanetti as his idol, and gave his thoughts on his future.

Zanotti is currently on loan at St. Gallen in Switzerland.

There, the young wingback has gotten his first taste of regular top flight senior football.

Prior to that loan move, Zanotti had made a few sporadic appearances for Inter’s first team.

The 21-year-old had also marked himself out as one of the outstanding players in the Nerazzurri’s youth academy for some time.

Now, Zanotti is at a potential crossroads.

The Italy Under-21 international could reportedly be part of talks between Inter and Genoa for forward Albert Gudmundsson.

But in the meantime, Zanotti is enjoying how far he has come already.

Matti Zanotti Looks Back On Inter Debut, Opens Up ABout Future

“My family has always supported Inter,” Zanotti revealed.

“And they passed that passion onto me.”

“The first time I ever walked into the Inter sports centre, I was fourteen years old,” Zanotti continued.

“My dad was almost more excited than I was,” he looked back.

Zanotti noted that “I had Chivu as a coach in the Primavera team. He taught me a lot.”

“He played in the same position as me,” the wingback said of Romanian former Inter, Roma, and Ajax player Chivu. “I always asked him for a lot of advice.”

“He’s a good coach,” Zanotti added. “He gives the team a lot of determination.”

The 21-year-old continued that “Zanetti is my idol.”

“Getting to see him every day as Vice-President has had an incredible effect on me.”

“In the first team, they joked about how similar my last name is to his,” said the 21-year-old, whose surname is just one letter away from that of the iconic former Inter captain.

“So they started to nickname me ‘Tractor’ like him.”

Then, Zanotti recalled his Inter first team debut. “The Primavera coach had let me know the night before,” he said.

“It all happened so quickly. It was incredible.”

“It seemed magical,” Zanotti admitted. “Almost like watching a movie.”

The 21-year-old noted that “I tried to take something from everyone’s game,” in training with the first team.

“But particularly the players who played the same position as me. I watched Dimarco, Darmian, Dumfries, Bellanova.”

“The coach sent me to warm up, and then told me – ‘Alright, you’re going to come on.'”

Lastly, Zanotti addressed his future. “I don’t live on dreams,” said the 21-year-old.

“I don’t know what will happen. I just know that I have to work every day to get what I want.”